KARACHI: The State Bank has issued a monetary policy in which the interest rate has been maintained at the level of twenty-two percent.
While holding a press conference in Karachi, State Bank Governor Jameel Ahmed issued the monetary policy for the next two months, in which the interest rate has been maintained at the level of twenty-two percent once again. Earlier in January too, this level was kept at 22 percent.
Governor State Bank said that there is a downward trend in inflation. Inflation has started to decline significantly in the second half of the current financial year. Despite a sharp decline in February, the level of inflation remains high.
He said that the scenario is under threat due to the high expectations of inflation. Due to the high expectations of inflation, a cautious approach is required. It is necessary to maintain the interest rate to bring the inflation in the range of 5-7% till September 2025. .
The Governor said that economic activity has continued to moderate with the recovery of agricultural production, the external current account balance is proving to be better than expected and has helped to maintain foreign exchange buffers despite weak financial inflows.
He said that due to the ongoing tension in the Red Sea, the oil prices have increased due to the possibility of inflation and uncertainty, the cautious monetary policy has been maintained in the developed and emerging economies as well.
He said that expectations of a moderate recovery in economic activity in FY24 are strengthened. Real GDP growth will be in the range of 2 to 3 percent this fiscal year. After cotton and rice, wheat crop is also good. Production Expected A recovery in large-scale manufacturing is expected in the coming months.
The governor said that the current account deficit was $269 million in January 2024, the overall deficit decreased by 71% to $1.1 billion during July-January, the balance of the current account improved due to the reduction in the trade deficit, the increase in exports and Imports decreased, exports increased because of excess food exports, imports are decreasing due to improvement in domestic agricultural production, remittances are increasing year by year from October 2023, current account deficit GDP in fiscal year 2024. is likely to remain at a low level of 0.5 to 1.5 percent.
